Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-10-22
THU REE. DIR. TGLMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINEs SUNDAY
SERMON.
suhjeet.--A Strait Up and Down
Religion"

MkEEIn|ElC0. SINE
phial arches and the cAthe1ralss 800 OF GOO
years old. and see them stand for centuries
rs erect as when they were buiided, walls Of
great height not ben1inE q quarter of ar
inch this way or that. So greatly honored
were the masuns who buIbied these walls that
they were free from taxation and called free
masonS- The trowel gets most Of the credit
for these buildings. and its clear ringing on
stone and brick has sounded acTuss the ages.
But there IS another implement Of Just as
much importance as the troEel. and my text
recognizes ie. Bricklayers, and stone masons,
and carpenters, in the building Of walls. use
an instrument made a cord, at the end Of
which q lump Of lad Is fastened They drop
it over the side Of the wall. and as the plum
met naturally seeks the centre Of gravity
In the earth, the workman discovers
where the wall receies and where
it bulges out. and just what IS the pe-Pendicu-
lar. Our text represents God IS standing ON
the wall Of character. which the Israelites
had built, and in that way measuring It.
And the Lord said unto ms, Amos. what
seest thout and i said. A plumb linz
What the world wants Is straight up and
down religion Much Of the sOcalled piety
OF the day bends this way and that to suit
the times 1t is horizontal with a low state
Of sentiment and morals We have all been
building wall Of character, and it Is glar-
inGly imperfect and nseiS reconstruction.
How shall it be brought into the pszpendicn-
the Lord said unto me. Amos, what seest
thoul and I said. A plumb line
The whole tendency of the times Is to make
rs act by the standard Of what others do.
IL they plsv cards, ue play cards. II they
dance ws dance II they read certain styles
OF books. we read them We throw over the
wall OF our Character the tangled Plumb line
Of other lives and re5ees the infallib1e test
which Amos saw ne question for me should
not Be what yUE think Is right, hut what God
thinks right. This per ssual reference to the
behavior 0f0thersl Sstholgh il decided any
thing but human falllhllity. IS \ mistake as
wide as the wO-td The7e are 10 600 plumb
lines in use. but only o1e Is trus and exact.
and that IS the line Of Gods eternal right.
There is mighty attemps being made to re-
construct and fix up the Ten commandments
To many they SEEN too rigid The tower of
Pisa leans over about thirteen feet from the
perpendicular, and peoQle 20 thousands OF
miles to see its graceful inclination, and by
extra braces and various architectural con-
trivanceS it Is kept leaning from century to
century Why not have the ten granite
blocks Of Sinai set a little ashanti Why not
have the pillar Of truth q leaning towers
Why IS not an ellipss IS good IS squares
Why is not an Oblique IS good IS straight up
and dOwnl Ny friends. we must have
standard; shall it be Gods or mamiss
The divine plumb-line needs to be thrown
over all merchandise Thousands Of years
ago solomon discovered the tendency of buy
erS to depreciate goods He SAW anlan baat-
ing down an article lower and lower. and say
ing it was not worth the price asked, and
when he Ind purchased at the lowest point be
told everybody what q sharp hargain he had
struck, and how he hal outEitted the mer-
chant. Proverbs III, H. 1T IS naught. il Is
naught, saith the buyer. but when he Is gone
is society in this manner thSt yoa seldom find
seller asking the prIoe thzt be expects to
get. He puts on a higher value than he prO-
poses to receive, knowing that hs VIII have
to drop II he wants fifty be asks seventy
five. And II he wants q 000 be asks :. 500 1T
IS nauxht,~ saith the b1yer. ssThe fabric Is
Detective the style Of gpOiS ispOor. can get
elsewhere q better article at 4 smaller price:
4 IS out OF fashion. II sdS1nageds il viii fade;
it will not wear WELL After a while the
merchant, from OVER persuasion OF from de-
sire to dispose q that particular stock Of
goods. says well, take It at your own
price and the purchaser goes home with
Light step and calls into his private Office his
confidential friends. and chuckleS while he
tellshow that for half pricS he got the goods
In other words, he les and IS proud of IL
Nothing would make TINES Is cool. and the
earning Of = livelihood 80 easy, as the unirer-
sal adoption Of the law q right. Suspicion
strikes through all bargain making Men
who sell know not whether they VIII ever
get the money Purchasers know not
WHISTLER the goosls shipped viii be IN accord-
ing to the sample. and what with the large
number Of clerks who are making FALSE entries
and then absconding to Canada, and the ex-
plosion Of firms that fad for millions Of dol
lars, honest men are at their wits end to
make living He who stands up amid all
the pressure and does right Is accomplishing
something toward the establishment Of a high
commercial prosperity. l have deep sym
pafhy for the hboring CLASSES who toll with
hand and foot. But we must not forget the
business men who. without any complaint or
hammered PROFESSIONS through the street are
enduring stress Of circumstances terrific.
The fortunate people Of to-day are those who
are receiving daily wages or regular salaries.
And the men most to Be pitisd are those who
conduct a business while prices are falling
and yet try to pay their clerks and emplOves
AMI are IN such fearful straits that they
would quit business tO-mOrTow If it were not
for the wreck and ruin Of OaherS When
people tell me at what = Fuinously low price
they purchased an articts il gives me mora
olsmay than satisfaction 1 Know II means
the bankruptcy and defalcatiOn q men IN
many departments The men who toll with
the brain need fun As much symuafhv as
those who toil with thu hands An business
hfe Is struck through with suspicion. and
Panics are only the result q want Of conf
dence.
The pressure TO do wrong Is allthe stronger
nom the fact that in our day the large bust
49, houses are SW1lloUlnE w the smaller.
The whales dining on bluefish and minnowS
1he large houses unferSell the snail ones be
ea1se they can afford It. They can afford 70
make nothing, or actually LOSE, On some STYLES
Of goods. assured they can make it IN on
others. So grpatd goods kuuse goes out
side Of its regular line and sells books at cost
OF less than cost. and that sEamyss the book
sellers or thedry goods hosise sells hric,a-hrar
81 lowest figures, that xwamps the small
dealer in bric-a-brac- And the same thing
goes On in Other styles Of MERCHANDISE. and
the Consequence Is that all along the
business streets q all our cites therT
are merchants q small capital Who ars
IN terrific struggle 20 ksep their heasit
above water The CunArders run down
the NewfoundlAnd fishing suackS This 4
nothing against the MN who has the big
store, for every man has IS large a store and
- great business - he can manage To
feel right and do right under al this PRESSURE
requires martyr graoe. re1uires divine sun
port, reqrires celestial reinforcement Yef
thsre are tens o. thouants q zlch mrn
getting splendidly throu<h They 50 othrry
gong up and Themselves going down. hut
they keep their patience and their courage.
and their Christian Consistency. and after 4
while their turn q s1ccess viii cu1,e- Ih,i
owners % the bi< business viii de AMI their
t1ys viii get pnasesxfol q TIN husiness and
with q cirzr IN tn urn11fh nri fu1I 4, fhn